All monthly meetings of SDIS are free and open to the public. A question/discussion period follows the talk.

The Talk:In fifteen years, perhaps in ten or even five, our speaker believes, robotics will be an integral part of life. Robotics continues the technological revolution, briding the gap between the information systems and the physical world. Our speaker’s research has a strong emphasis on “real problems” with theoretical models, implementation, and evaluation—leading to “real solutions” and translation to the real world. Robots will do things humans can’t do, and things humans shouldn’t do, bringing independence and autonomy. But they need to be as dexterous as humans, able to reason and interact with people, and accessible to everyone both technologically and financially.

The Speaker:Dr. Henrik I. Christensen is the Qualcomm Chancellor's Chair in Robot Systems and a Professor of Computer Science in the Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, UC San Diego. He is also the director of the Institute for Contextual Robotics. Prior to UC San Diego, he has held position at Georgia Tech, Swedish Royal Institute of Technology and Aalborg University. Dr. Christensen does research on systems integration, human- robot interaction, mapping and robot vision. He has published more than 350 contributions across AI, robotics and vision. He is actively engaged in the setup and coordination of robotics research in the US (and worldwide). Dr. Christensen received the Engelberger Award 2011, the highest honor awarded by the robotics industry. He was also awarded the "Boeing Supplier of the Year 2012.” Dr. Christensen is a fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He received an honorary doctorate in engineering from Aalborg University 2014. He collaborates with institutions and industries across three continents.